To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S – 11

“I know those passsers-by aren’t actually heartless. Even if they barged in to help, it’s not like they’d be able to do anything. They’d just get hurt themselves. Everyone looks out for themselves. That’s normal. If there’s anyone willing to stand up for a stranger, they’re either an idiot or…”

As far as a statement about the world goes, Misaka hits the nail on the head with her quote to start things off this week. In general, there are a lot of things in the world (and about people) that you just know are true. Many of these things aren’t exactly ideal, but at the same time, they’re things you can’t blame people for doing/not doing/believing. And in the end, while it’s arguably quite sad how human nature is at times—even if it’s logical—it’s also something that can at least give you a sense of “known quantity” in your life (should you choose to accept that this is how we are). Indeed, one way of looking at life is just to expect nothing… and it’s something that’s not only notable in and of itself, but a notion that could theoretically serve as the standard by which you differentiate the people that are “special” or “different from others.” And really, that’s the core behind the “friendship” between Misaka and Touma.

Having previously watched Index myself, I knew this “reunion” was coming, but this week just hammers in just how fateful of a meeting it was. There’s just nothing like coming off one of the biggest tribulations of your life and just stumbling upon the one guy that’s pretty much the definition of “not normal.” Of course, part of that is innately related to his ability to negate esper powers, and really, when you link two and two together—that is, his ability and its potential effectiveness against Accelerator—it really just screams “fateful meeting” in more ways than one.

Either way—again, I’ve seen this moment before in Index—but dang, it still doesn’t change how awesome this moment was. There’s just nothing quite like just trashing evil vending machines in revenge for taking your ten-thousa—wait, never mind, Misaka kind of deserved that. Ahem* But yeah, in any case… drinks are on the house today it seems… and with it, comes the great slice of life bits that the series just knows how to slip in perfectly. Yes, I’m talking about Saten’s belief that all of Misaka’s problems are caused by a guy—which is theoretically true. I mean, she’s not wrong if you consider the male scientists and Accelerator… but hah, yeah, let’s just say that the point is that this led to quite the sequence of hilarious developments. You gotta love allthefaces this week in particular (quite the trend in Railgun S especially) and well, this week highlights a bit of the eye of the storm so to speak…

…as it looks like things just aren’t over yet. The cheery atmosphere of the first half gives way to the resumption of the darker bits we’ve been accustomed to lately as we find out that the Level 6 Shift is still ongoing, and to say it comes as a shock to Misaka is an understatement. The question now though, is exactly what she finds herself asking: What should I do? What can I do? With the city itself seemingly behind everything (and 183 facilities popping back up virtually overnight), it’s morale sapping to say the least—especially when you how she finds this out while also being literally face to face with a sister that knows nothing of her feelings and will likely die before the end of the day. Just absolutely heart-wrenching to watch.

Ultimately, it was a tad bit surprising (although, I guess it shouldn’t be) how similar this was to the corresponding parts in Index. What’s notable however, is how I still felt emotionally invested regardless though, because while I was half expecting myself to be like “oh hey, it’s nostalgia time” and shrug it off… things didn’t really end up working that way at all. I suppose it’s true what they say though: it’s all about perspective. And finally seeing things from Misaka’s view really changed the landscape so to speak, because it really highlighted just the anguish she’s had to go through before the vending machine scene—things that we never got to see in detail in Index. Needless to say, all of this just strengthens my impressions of both Railgun S and Index in general, and it’s just a testament to how well this series has been done for the most part—something that hopefully will continue to carry on to the remainder of this series.

Not sure how to explain it. Maybe ‘deep’ isn’t the right word.
Accelerator feels like he’s growling all the time.
In the previous seasons, Okamoto sounded less raspy in scenes that didn’t put Accelerator in stressful situations.

Though if you’re sensing something, then it’s probably Okamoto Nobuhiko finally figuring out the right feel for his character, much like how actors in the beginning of TV series feel different than they appear later on in the series, when they’ve grown fully accustomed to their roles.

There’s one thing you seem to overlook and that’s the true meaning of Mikoto’s flashback. Her “fateful meeting”, as you put it, is not about who is normal or who has special powers, but the most important thing is that Kamijou has the will to act (Batman Begins =p).

Even if he is powerless against a group of thugs, he sees no reason to ‘abandon’ someone who needs help.

Well, generally that was included eh. I was talking about the quote being indicative of what differentiates someone who is “not normal,” and in that context, Touma fits this because he’s one of those “people willing to stand up for a stranger” ― making him someone who is different in that respect. :P

I found when reading this arc in the manga and watching it now, that the whole ‘Sisters’ arc in both Railgun and Index makes much more sense after viewing it in both series, I was somewhat lost (mainly because of subtitle overload) when watching it years ago for the first time, but now everything has clicked and Misaka’s desperation to conclude the experiment makes much more sense when you consider how hard she’s already fought, against the facilities and ITEM.

On another note, I’m glad to see that they’re reanimating all of the Touma parts with upgraded animation(? not sure on the specific word)I feared that, without mentioning any spoilers, as most of the things in the remainder of this arc were aired in Index they would just reuse old footage. Can’t wait to see the finale of this arc (those who have watched Index and read Railgun know what I mean) reanimated with the updated quality. It’s gonna be awesome!

is wasted as a certain tiny glutton already shot down the Tree Diagram in orbit. Something she’ll find out next episode.

(Not spoilers: go watch season 1 Index if this is surprise)EDITED: The reason I asked for spoilers is that some people haven’t watched Index. Just because you think they should’ve doesn’t mean you can just consider stuff like the aforementioned not a spoiler.

Also, on another side note, I hope that the series expands on what happens to the scientist (I forget the name) that tried to help free the sisters and was stopped by ITEM. If memory serves right we never find out what happens to her in the original source material, she just kind of vanishes after being caught.

The answer to that is: not really. But it makes it very jarring when one views it as an intersecting point in the original Index. Completely new animation with different perspectives and different thoughts are all a-ok, since we’re seeing it from Mikoto’s perspective. However, they went so far as to change so many details.

You can take it like it was seen from another point of view. Determined actions look different when the viewer changes. I think we didn’t have Kuroko’s inner monologues in the original and Touma is portrayed more like a third party here.
The scene lasted a different amount of time, so it’s normal to show things a bit different and your Main Character is another here.

Problem is that the actual physical actions are totally different. The kicking of the vending machine in Index was before Misaka learned about the value of the note that Touma had put in (she just wanted a drink first) whereas in Railgun, it was with the intention to obtain two thousand yen worth of drinks for Touma (if not the actual note itself).

touma had an improvement in animation and it seems like next episode is going to improve kamijou animation even more in all honesty this episode was very enjoyable including the scenes with touma and mikoto and how close mikoto and kuroko friendship is. it was a very touching/funny episode.

touma had an improvement in animation and it seems like next episode is going to improve kamijou animation even more in the next episode.in all honesty this episode was very enjoyable including the scenes with touma and mikoto and how close mikoto and kuroko friendship is. it was a very touching/funny episode.(sorry needed to re-post because i made a few errors in my last one).

Oh my… the series so far was one misfortune hitting Mikoto after another. Discovering you have been cloned. Discovering that thousands of your clones have been murdered. Barely getting alive from confrontation with ITEM. Discovering the experiment continues. And that it has been so expanded that you cant realistically stop it. Realising it is the city authorities that allow the experiment to take place.
I wonder what Mikoto intends to do now since she suggested that she would do some “great calamity”. If she intends to Show Spoiler ▼

destroy the Tree Diagram

she might be for another misfortune since someone has already done it…

In Index 1, when Touma sees #10032 appear, our reaction was the same as his “Oh wow, her twin sister has appeared!” Like Touma, most did not know what was to come.

In RailgunS, when Mikoto sees #10032 appear, our reaction was the same as hers “Oh dear, they’re still continuing with that awful stuff. Poor Mikoto.” Like Mikoto, we all knew what had transpired, and realized Mikoto’s efforts were all in vain.

Interesting, they changed so many details of this scene… How Mikoto gets the drinks, how Kuroko reacts, Misaka’s entrance… I understand the need to make changes to the scene, but it’s so jarring after having seen Index…

Wow, I had a lot of fun for watching a retelling of an episode that I thought that I had already seen.

I am so impressed with the animation quality. I think I’m going to go back and check out the other series’. It might just be me but the average scene seemed to have a lot of work put into it compared to what I remember of Index / Kagaku no Railgun I.

Touma’s voice actor has this weird wheezing layer in his voice when he’s running or panting. Check out the scene at 6:38. It always seems like he’s about to have an asthma attack, but the talking sounds fine. I noticed this back in Index, but it weirds me out every time.

I preferred the Index version of the opening scene, though this one is good too. It does bug me that they’re so different but I can get on board the idea that each is from a different person’s perspective.